Construction firm Kier has been appointed by the Government Property Agency (GPA)as its initial delivery partner to create a new state-of-the-art hub at the Darlington Economic Campus (DEC).

The organisations have just agreed a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) in readiness to deliver the project, earmarked for Brunswick St, after the planning application was lodged with Darlington Borough Council last month.

The latest hub would become part of the DEC which includes Feethams House and Bishopsgate House, and form part of the Government Hubs Programme supporting economic growth across the UK, catalysing the regeneration of brownfield sites and creating efficient, sustainable and productive workplaces for civil servants.

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Kier and the GPA are now set to develop the design and engage with the supply chain to prepare the way for building to begin. Subject to planning consent being granted, construction iConstruction of the hub is set to begin later this year, with completion expected in 2027. Once open, the building will provide modern office space for around 1,400 civil servants.

Since 2021, an additional 800 civil servants have been recruited into the DEC, adding to the 750 Department for Education (DfE) staff already based in the town.

The new hub will house Civil Service staff from His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC); the Office for National Statistics (ONS); the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA); the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), in addition to the DfE which is already based in Darlington.